Jun Amaki announces retirement (or does she?)

One of Japan’s top gravure idols, Jun Amaki, has announced her retirement.

On April 1, the hugely popular gradol posted on social media to her hundreds of thousands of followers, claiming that her retirement was immediate.

“I entered the entertainment industry at the age of 17 and started my activities as a national underground idol. From the age of 18, I used my miraculous two-dimensional body as a weapon and continued to run as a gravure idol until today! This is my last year in my twenties. I have come to terms with my life and have decided to retire from gravure modeling.”

She thanks those in the industry who have helped her carer and goes on: “I hope that everyone who has supported me until now will be sad to see me go.”

“I love you all,” she concludes — before finishing with an apology for the confusion because, of course, this was an April Fool’s joke.

If the date hadn’t already clued fans in, the almost conceited and exaggerated tone of the language was another giveaway.

Of course, barring pregnancy or a serious scandal, there’s practically no way that busty Jun Amaki would retire at this stage in her career, when the 29-year-old is still more or less at the peak of her popularity. Her recent appearance at a sauna in Tokyo, for instance, attracted huge crowds, and she’s actually going to release her sixth photo book in June to mark her 30th birthday.

The announcement and stunt attracted a lot of news attention, though Amaki succeeded in raising her profile even further.

There was a time when making such April Fool’s Day jokes was fashionable among entertainers and brands, even to the extent of models and idols claiming they would make a porn debut and mocking up fake porn DVD covers.

The fad seems to have passed, which makes Jun-chan’s joke even better (or crueler, if you’re one of her many, many fans).

For more pics of Jun Amaki and her miracle body (a winning combo of a sweet face, slender waist, and I-cup breasts!), see our tumblr page.